laneys.info Beware of Yankees, drunks, and loose women.

Once in the unique city of Machelen, Broc headed through the starport that was elevated on the southern side of the upper ring of a construction which resembled a peeled onion resting within an enormous crater. Winds carried the scents of various indigenous flowers and trees that wafted up through the narrow confines of the main concourse as he meandered through the crowd towards the line of awaiting taxis. Opening the door of the nearest, he sat within the black leather seat and closed the door.

"Where to?" the driver asked, his maroon cap turned backwards as the face of his dark goggles reflected within the rearview mirror.

"Souris Park."

"Alright," the driver stated as he speeder lurched into traffic. "You here for the summit?"

"Yeah. I've been interested to hear the professor's views on strip mining firsthand," Broc lied.

"I don't know, I think that the Imperial Navy needs to keep us safe from the terrorist front, so why not? They need to build ships, right?"

"Absolutely."

"I think this guy needs to be careful, I'd hate for Re-Education reps to come knocking on my door."

"No kidding." He watched through the opposite window as the street wound down via bypasses and eventually arrived at the large park. It's tall trees and grass covered yard was a welcome sight after being on board his ship for two days. A crowd was also gathering to hear Doctor Bryant give his speech fronted by media and not too few plain clothed guards stationed around the podium.

"Here we are, that's twelve credits."

Broc handed the driver his credstick which the local inserted into a round slot that attached to his dash mounted computer, then handed it back. "Thanks."

"You bet."

Broc walked out into the daylight and headed towards the edge of the crowd, then turned around and scanned all the good places for a shooter to hit the speaker and quickly found that there were too many to cover. He tried to narrow down which sites would give the most cover and yet have access to the best escape routes which narrowed the field somewhat. He was still in trouble though. He only hoped that the police kept an eye on the upper rim and starport like he told them to. Perfume suddenly caught his attention and he turned to notice a shapely female step up beside him.

"What drug you out here today," she smiled and he was captivated by her smooth lines, bright hazel eyes, long silky brown hair and knew that he was definitely in trouble.

He grinned in return. "Interested to see how long it takes for Mister Bryant to get carried off by a rep from SAGroup. How about you?"

"Covering the interview afterwards. I'm Sandra Calldir with Channel Twelve."

"Broc Golvan. Pleasure," he diverted his eyes to the upper levels behind the podium, through the trees and realized that there was virtually no line-of-sight from that direction. Hopefully the officers got lucky with their LFI's before the shooter struck. Hopefully.

"Where are you from," she asked as the crowd conversed among themselves before them, waiting for the professor to arrive.

"Originally? Indikir, you?"

"Here on Poderis. Born and raised," she shifted her weight closer to him, arms crossed underneath firm breasts. He felt his adrenaline rush as the scent of her perfume carried him to a private meeting with her away from the crowd. Then he snapped back as he sighed.

"Sorry," she stated, "Am I boring you?"

"No," he stated emphatically. "It's just, I had a long trip getting here and not much rest. I enjoy your company. Do you have any plans after the interview?"

She grinned as tanned cheeks and glimmering eyes drew him in even further. "How about meeting me at the Sre Ambel at five?"

"Absolutely."

"Afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," a male voice interrupted from the podium, his voice amplified by the unseen speaker within the wooden stand. Broc turned to eye the older, tall man whose thin golden glasses reflected the sunlight as he adjusted them. Thinning black hair was combed back and curled over the ears as his head rose to speak. Suddenly, his smile went blank as a pop echoed within the air and Broc recognized the sound immediately. Sprinting for the podium as the professor fell backwards, everyone in the crowd stood motionless for a moment, then women screamed as the guards all moved to keep the mass at bay, weapons drawn while two others rushed to their fallen benefactor.
Producing his badge, he held it up as he ran towards a guard whose pistol was leveled at Broc's chest.

"Officer, Sector Ranger's move aside," he commanded which took a moment for the mercenary to register. Finally, the guard turned his pistol away and Broc leaped over the line of hedges and moved to the professor whose shocked eyes stared into the blue sky above. The bullet cleanly cut a small hole into the back of his mouth and removed the base of the spine connecting the skull with only muscle keeping them attached. He stood and turned to eye the spot that the shooter had to have been and raised the comlink to his lips.

"Level Seventeen or Eighteen, have all units converge and close in."

"Copy that," the reply from the local police lieutenant that he had spoken to earlier.

Broc turned back to eye the surroundings, then walked around the body and the two men as brown eyes scoured the area for the bullet. Turning again, he gauged the angle, then followed the projected path to where it should be, then moved over, crouched down and ran his hand through the short grass to finally find the small crater surrounded by grey dirt. He began sifting through the earth until finding only a brass remnant which quickly dissolved before his eyes. Taking out a small bag, he scooped the dirt around the disintegrated projectile and sealed the top edge for later. He was dealing with a professional, he sighed as he turned and stood to eye the far edge of the city and hoped that the police had good news soon.

* * *

Through the scope, she watched as the Ranger looked back at her, crosshairs around and disecting his face. Now she knew who was on her trail as she heard footsteps and a hard kick to the entrance next door. Grinning, she quickly blended back into the shadows of the quiet apartment and disappeared.